Shots just above the breast at the base of the neck (crop) seems to be the off switch. Tail feathers will flair and legs will droop with a properly placed shot.
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Pigeons — How Can They Fly Off After I SMACKED Them? 🤔
- Thread starter JungleShooter
- Start date
^^^^ this^^^^ I shoot sub12 fpe, while a well placed body shot might stop a pigeon in its tracks with almost no flapping, a head shot definitely will bring it down but they tend to flap for a long time even though most of the brain is missing.
If you are doing serious pest control, there is no need for high power, in fact it can be detrimental, the gun is louder and hits are harder so first shot scares everything away for 1/4 mile. With my silent low powered guns, it’s not unusual to shot 10 roosted birds before they fly off, even then its only a matter of a few yards.
It’s a similar story with rabbits although once spooked they tend to stay away for 1/2 hour or so.
Bb
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Thank you all for chiming in and giving me some ideas of how to interpret these weird fly-offs of my quarry.
And how to diminish them to a deadly end!
So, from this thread and two parallel threads (GTA and AGW) I'm taking away the following:
(1) Buck fever is definitely a factor — I'm sure it has gotten me to forget one (or more!) of the FoM.*
*Fundamentals of marksmanship — sorry, female shooters
— we've got to find a more inclusive term eventually!
(2) Pigeons are incredible tough animals. Even after a deadly shot they still can go long distances before finally expiring. markT says pigeons "fly dead"!
The following two quotes are worth repeating:
—Airspace (aka Guy):
"When I was growing up a close friend and his father raised racing pigeons. I have seen birds fly in that had holes in their bodies from pass though shots from powder burners.
Multiple wounds from shotgun blast and gaping open wounds from something we never figured out.
They are extremely tough and durable birds."
—JadedC, about Cher Ami, a homing pigeon during WWI with a 194-lives-saving message (from Wikipedia):
"As Cher Ami tried to fly back home, the Germans saw her rising out of the brush and opened fire. After several seconds, she was shot down but managed to take flight again.
She arrived back at her loft at division headquarters 25 miles (40 km) to the rear in just 25 minutes, helping to save the lives of the 194 survivors.
She had been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, and had a leg hanging only by a tendon." She lived through it.
(3) Hollow points and wadcutters will produce more damage — and less fly-offs.
Just need to make sure they are precise out to range. And that the winds are pretty calm as their poor BC will make them drift a lot more than domed pellets with their typically high BC.
(4) Some suggested to deliver more energy on target.
Well, yesterday on a pesting run the Skyhawk (30FPE) lost all its air — pffffft. Bummer!
Fortunatley, I had the PP700 (.22) with me, and it killed just as well, at only 11FPE.
Suprised me. (And yes, at longer ranges the 30FPE does deliver with more precision, both through a flatter trajectory, less wind drift, and sufficient power to brake through the feathers).
(5) Pigeon anatomy for shot placement — yes, I think I can improve my shot placement!
For me that means higher and further forward than I used to shoot.
(6) I have all the equipment for exterior ballistics.
But I should do target practice under the same conditions that I hunt — so no bag under the buttstock, no comfortably sitting in a chair — but standing in a feeding trough, the bipod on a fence post....
Then I'll know what I'm truly capable of hitting....
THANKS again, this has been very helpful to me to think this through with people much more experienced than I! 
Matthias
And how to diminish them to a deadly end!
So, from this thread and two parallel threads (GTA and AGW) I'm taking away the following:
(1) Buck fever is definitely a factor — I'm sure it has gotten me to forget one (or more!) of the FoM.**Fundamentals of marksmanship — sorry, female shooters
— we've got to find a more inclusive term eventually!(2) Pigeons are incredible tough animals. Even after a deadly shot they still can go long distances before finally expiring. markT says pigeons "fly dead"!The following two quotes are worth repeating:
—Airspace (aka Guy):
"When I was growing up a close friend and his father raised racing pigeons. I have seen birds fly in that had holes in their bodies from pass though shots from powder burners.
Multiple wounds from shotgun blast and gaping open wounds from something we never figured out.
They are extremely tough and durable birds."
—JadedC, about Cher Ami, a homing pigeon during WWI with a 194-lives-saving message (from Wikipedia):
"As Cher Ami tried to fly back home, the Germans saw her rising out of the brush and opened fire. After several seconds, she was shot down but managed to take flight again.
She arrived back at her loft at division headquarters 25 miles (40 km) to the rear in just 25 minutes, helping to save the lives of the 194 survivors.
She had been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, and had a leg hanging only by a tendon." She lived through it.
(3) Hollow points and wadcutters will produce more damage — and less fly-offs.Just need to make sure they are precise out to range. And that the winds are pretty calm as their poor BC will make them drift a lot more than domed pellets with their typically high BC.
(4) Some suggested to deliver more energy on target.Well, yesterday on a pesting run the Skyhawk (30FPE) lost all its air — pffffft. Bummer!
Fortunatley, I had the PP700 (.22) with me, and it killed just as well, at only 11FPE.
Suprised me. (And yes, at longer ranges the 30FPE does deliver with more precision, both through a flatter trajectory, less wind drift, and sufficient power to brake through the feathers).
(5) Pigeon anatomy for shot placement — yes, I think I can improve my shot placement!For me that means higher and further forward than I used to shoot.
(6) I have all the equipment for exterior ballistics.But I should do target practice under the same conditions that I hunt — so no bag under the buttstock, no comfortably sitting in a chair — but standing in a feeding trough, the bipod on a fence post....
Then I'll know what I'm truly capable of hitting....
THANKS again, this has been very helpful to me to think this through with people much more experienced than I! Matthias
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Saludos a todos a pesar de que ya has dado el tema por cerrado no puedo dejar de dar mi consejo y es que al ser nuevo en la caza de palomas todavia no te has acostumbrado ni familiarizado con este tipo de presa ya que cada especie tiene su forma distintiva para ser impactada , me explico soy de un pais tropical y aqui nos especializamos en caza de plumas tortolas palomas gallina de guinea patos y si es cierto que a cualquier presa que le atravieses el corazón caerá en el mismo lugar donde se encuentra parada pero pero es mas facil decirlo que hacerlo pues en la práctica cuando se esta en el monte o lgar de caza no siempre la presa nos permite el angulo de disparo que queremos y sabemos que es efectivo y hay que disparar en el lugar que nos permita la presa y que nos de mas centro de maza pero mi consejo final es que en un lugar donde existan muchas presas en abundancia que solo le hagas tiro a las que te permitan con el disparo y su impacto una trayectoria que sepas de antemano que le causara en su cuerpo (presas) el daño requerido para abrirlas
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Este ejemplo es con un ave de tamaño considerado y que posee reputación de ser dura de matar gallina de guinea
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avisponverde,
gracias por tus consejos.
Me encantan tu rifle y tu camioneta...!! Excelente!
Matthias
gracias por tus consejos.
Me encantan tu rifle y tu camioneta...!!
Excelente!Matthias
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Shot placement will always be the most important thing. Right after that comes pellet performance. Years ago you couldn’t find a reliably expanding pellet and their accuracy was considerably worse than diablos. Now there are a bunch...Predator Polymags, H&N Terminators, JSB Hades, JSB slugs, NSA slugs...are a few that have accuracy and good “terminal” performance.
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